


Rehomed

by KH310-S (Author_of_Kheios)



Series: Mer-Quarium [6]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempted Murder, Gen, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 08:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30035796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_of_Kheios/pseuds/KH310-S
Summary: omg the Mer-Quarium returns whaaaaaat??hi. betcha thought i forgot about this series. not a chance; despite the fact that i have adhd and can't seem to stay focused on any one thing for more than a few seconds, this au still comes up near daily in convos with Juk and we come up with all kinds of bizarre new scenarios all the time.imma be honest, i actually started this one waaaaaayyy back when i posted the last installment, but then something happened and i got sidetracked and never finished it. but now it's done, so here you go! don't forget that altho each little installment cantechnicallystand alone, it does make a bit more sense if you read them all chronologically. (if you're new here, this is astrrooooonnnghint to go start at the beginning.)SO! enjoy another little piece of this old mermaid au, and as always, don't forget to kudos, comment, and subscribe for more shenanigans!
Relationships: Carl Manfred & Markus
Series: Mer-Quarium [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1476737
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	Rehomed

**Author's Note:**

> omg the Mer-Quarium returns whaaaaaat??
> 
> hi. betcha thought i forgot about this series. not a chance; despite the fact that i have adhd and can't seem to stay focused on any one thing for more than a few seconds, this au still comes up near daily in convos with Juk and we come up with all kinds of bizarre new scenarios all the time.
> 
> imma be honest, i actually started this one waaaaaayyy back when i posted the last installment, but then something happened and i got sidetracked and never finished it. but now it's done, so here you go! don't forget that altho each little installment can _technically_ stand alone, it does make a bit more sense if you read them all chronologically. (if you're new here, this is a _strrooooonnng_ hint to go start at the beginning.)
> 
> SO! enjoy another little piece of this old mermaid au, and as always, don't forget to kudos, comment, and subscribe for more shenanigans!

~

The problem with humanity is that, as a whole, it fears what it doesn't understand. Mer exist on magic, a concept that has been misunderstood and, as a result, feared by humans since the dawn of time. There was once a time in history when the gods had dominion over all three realms: sea, land, and sky. But those days ended when humanity killed the Phoenix and chased Chthulu into the Leviathan's territory. With the sky and land stripped of magic, the sea became the only safe place for creatures like merfolk and sea monsters. Oh, some sturdy specimens still remain on the surface, like your so-called "bigfoot" and other cryptids, but creatures like the fey have been almost entirely wiped out by humanity's fear and prejudice against magic. And now that mer have come out to the general public, we face greater discrimination than ever before. In some cases, even from those closest to us.

Dr. Joshua Kamski, PhD

~

"I don't want to paint," the large, well-built mer laughs, leaning over the edge of the small lake he calls home.

"Why not?" smiles the old man seated beside him in a wheelchair. Next to him stands a portable aluminum easel set low to the ground, in easy reach of the mer, blank canvas inviting the stroke of a brush.

"I'm wet!" the mer laughs louder, raising his arms. Water drips from the specially made shirt designed specifically for him. "I'll mess up the paints."

"They're watercolour paints," the old man clucks. "They're meant to be wet."

"Carl..." There's a teasingly chiding tone in the mer's voice and Carl shakes his head.

"Come on, Markus; at least give it a try," he coaxes. "And don't you dare use your siren power on me!"

"Yes, Dad," Markus chuckles, rolling his eyes and hauling himself up out of the water and onto the paving stones that line this side of the lake. Taking up the paints, he sticks his tongue at Carl as he holds his arm over the tray to let water drip from his clothes onto the paints.

"Brat," Carl smiles warmly.

"So what should I paint?" Markus asks, being more serious now as he cocks his head and eyes the canvas critically.

"Anything," Carl encourages. "Scenery. Or an emotion. What was your first memory?"

"You," Markus answers without hesitation, looking up at the man who spent years raising him. "The surprise on your face when you first saw me."

"How did you feel then?" Carl asks gently, reminiscent.

"Excited... Anxious... I was worried you'd be afraid of me."

"Paint that."

Markus picks up the brush, staring at the canvas as he recalls the memory, the emotion; basks in it. Taking a breath, he begins painting a black background.

The squeal of tires breaks his attention, and both of them look toward the house. Someone shouts, and Markus winces reactively, quickly setting the brush and paints down while Carl sighs.

"In the yard, Leo!" he calls out.

"The fuck are you doing out here?" grumps the young man who looks like a younger version of Carl, albeit far angrier. He glares up at the sun as he comes closer, and then seems to remember the sunglasses on top of his head. Shoving them down over his eyes, he ambles up to the edge of the lake, where Carl and Markus wait in terse silence. "...Well? No one going to greet me?"

"Welcome home, Leo," Carl says, slightly reluctant. "Can I help you with something?"

"What, no appreciation for your only son coming to visit?" Leo asks with a snide sidelong glance at Markus, who pointedly avoids looking at him, tail flicking irritably.

"You rarely come just to visit anymore, Leo," Carl sighs, already tired of this. "What do you want?"

"Who says I want anything?"

"You always want something," Carl states blandly. "Usually money. What's it for this time, gas? Your internet bill? Did the water get turned off at your apartment?" His voice is edged in sarcasm, and Leo notices, scowling.

"I have needs you know, Dad."

"And every week it's something new. I'm getting tired of bailing you out of shit, Leo."

"What are you saying, you don't care about me anymore?" Leo demands, incredulous.

" _Enough_." The sweet but commanding tone of Markus' voice worms its way through Leo's entire frame and he shudders, expression going lax.

"Markus," Carl scolds sharply, only for Markus to frown at him.

"You shouldn't have to deal with this, Carl," he says. "We both know he's going to use the money for drugs or women or something equally atrocious."

"That doesn't excuse your behaviour."

With an irritable huff, Markus flicks his fingers at Leo, releasing him from the spell. Leo stiffens and shakes his head, grimacing.

"The hell...?"

"Leo, whatever excuse you have this time, I'm not giving you anymore money," Carl says firmly. "It's about time you learn how to take care of yourself."

"Oh and the fish doesn't have to?" Leo sneers at Markus.

"Markus' situation is different and you know it," Carl chides. "It's impossible for him to live on his own in a closed system like this; it's unsustainable without outside assistance."

"So throw it back in the damn ocean!"

"I'm _right_ here," Markus grumbles, tail splashing in agitation.

"Domestic individuals can't survive outside their original habitation without an intensive adjustment period," Carl states coolly, "and regardless of whether or not I'm willing to take the time, effort and money to do that, I will not force someone to do something like that against their will."

"You just love your damn pet more than me," Leo growls.

"Pet??" Markus turns a dark look on the man, but Carl holds up a staying hand.

"Markus is not a pet," he says deliberately.

"Oh that's right," Leo hisses. "He's your other son." The venom in his voice makes Markus flinch, but then Leo pauses, like he's waiting for Carl to deny it.

There's a moment too long of hesitation, and Leo bristles.

"Leo..."

"No. Fuck you," he bites, turning away. Without another word, he leaves, and Carl stares sorrowfully after him.

"...Carl?" Markus prompts quietly after a moment, watching him closely. Carl sighs deeply, not looking at him, and leans over to pick up the paints and brushes, setting them on the bar of the easel.

"I'm so tired, Markus," he says softly, unlocking his wheels.

Like father, like son; he says nothing else on his way back into the house.

Markus watches him go, an inexplicable ache in his chest, and then looks at the canvas. Shifting closer, he picks up the tools and begins painting.

~

The next morning comes with a small splash, waking Markus from his nest of grass at the bottom of the lake. Still half-asleep, he yawns and pushes himself toward the surface with a ripple of his tail. Something that tastes and feels nasty slides against his skin as he nears the surface, and he falters, dipping lower in the water and going around that area and up, though he can't see anything unusual there. Disconcerted, he surfaces, and no one is around. Frowning, he inspects the weird area of the water a little more closely, but still finds nothing.

"Good morning, Markus!" Carl greets, coming out of the house and into the yard with a wide bucket on his lap. "You're up early."

"Hm? Oh, something woke me," Markus explains, turning his attention to the man.

"Senses getting stronger?" Carl teases, locking his wheels and setting the bucket in reach of Markus. "Smelled the fish before I even left the house?"

"Heh. I doubt it," Markus chuckles, dragging the bucket a little closer and pulling out a fish that disappears almost instantly down his throat. "Mm. Better than yesterday; new shop?"

"Yes, the old one went out of business a couple days ago and I was a little bit concerned you wouldn't like this new stock as much, but I guess I worried for nothing."

That nasty feeling grazes Markus' tail and he flicks it instinctively, hoping to disturb whatever it is so it leaves him alone.

"It's delicious," he assures. "I will miss the tuna from there though." He grins at Carl, who grimaces and snorts.

"I still can't believe I actually gave that to you."

"Relax, Carl," Markus laughs. "Like I said before, it's hardly any different than humans eating stuff like dog meat; I'm sentient, the tuna isn't."

"Still feels weird..."

So does the nastiness against Markus' tail, but he ignores it, certain it's nothing worth bothering about.

He coughs, hard.

"Oh, ow; must have accidentally inhaled while I was swallowing," he says, wrinkling his nose.

"Well maybe if you didn't practically inhale your food anyway," Carl laughs.

"Hey, can I help it that chewing is weird to me?"

Before Carl can respond, they hear the telltale squeal of tires again, and Carl's expression tightens irritably.

"Not again..."

"Hello!" Leo greets as he rounds the corner of the house, far too cheerful after what happened yesterday. Markus eyes him cautiously, tail swishing a bit more quickly in the unsettlingly oily water.

"Leo, what are you doing here?" Carl demands.

"You know, it occurred to me," Leo says brightly, ignoring the question. "I'm not the problem. See, you raised me for almost 15 years, and then this fish shows up, and suddenly you don't have time for me anymore."

"Leo, that's not-"

"So I thought to myself," he goes on, while Markus stares in growing horror. "What if... the fish wasn't a problem anymore? What if... it was gone, out of the picture?"

"Leo," Carl says as it slowly dawns on him. "What did you do?"

Markus coughs again, harder and longer than before, and Carl pales, gripping the arm of his chair and leaning toward him.

"Did you know?" Leo asks smugly, watching with a spark of perverse pleasure in his gaze. "Crushed up black walnuts are poison to fish."

Markus is having a hard time breathing now, more than he's ever had from drying out, and he instinctively slips back into the water to wet his gills, only for the nastiness to sink into his lungs with every inhale. His vision blurs as he breaches the surface quickly, trying to get away from it, to push himself onto the paving stones; drying out is a far better alternative to soaking in that... poison.

"Markus! Leo, how could you?"

"Just getting rid of the problem, Dad."

It's a struggle to breathe at all, and the world is fading to star dust and darkness; the last thing Markus hears is Carl's near frantic desperation to call someone named Elijah.

~

The water tastes... weird. Markus hums sleepily and shifts. His nest isn't as soft as it should be, and he brushes a hand absently over-

Solid... Not his nest. Pushing up with a gasp, he looks around quickly as it all comes back.

"He's awake! Lucy, go find Elijah, please. And call Mr. Manfred!"

A human is nearby, on level with him, and he jolts back reactively, heart pounding sharply against his ribs and gills flaring. She comes closer and raises a hand, fingers splayed.

"Markus? My name is Orchid Monroe," she says gently, muffled by the water but still audible. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Leo," he answers, moving closer with a shift of his tail and reaching out cautiously. His fingers meet a hard surface between them; glass. He presses his hands to the glass, looking beyond Orchid, but unable to see much; the tank is lit from within, but the room Orchid is in isn't. "Where's Carl?"

"He'll be on his way any minute," Orchid assures. "He had to stay to give his statement to the police."

"Police?" Markus echoes, unease rising in his chest. "What happened? Is Carl okay? Did Leo hurt him?" He bares his teeth, pressing hard against the glass.

"No, nothing like that," Orchid says shaking her head and moving her hand to cover one of Markus'. "Mr. Manfred is fine. He called Elijah, who called the police. We got you out of the poisoned lake as soon as we could, which is fortunate; any longer and there's no telling how sick it would have made you."

"Leo poisoned me," Markus states venomously, hands curling to fists against the glass. Just as quickly as it came, the anger vanishes, fading into despair as he sinks to the bottom of the tank and lays on the hard floor. "He tried to kill me..."

"You're alive, Markus; that's all that matters."

"I never hurt him," Markus says quietly, staring at his hands. "He's always been mean to me, but I never thought... How could anyone want to kill someone who never did anything to them?"

"I don't know," Orchid sighs, leaning on the glass. "Some people are just cruel."

Silence falls for a long while, until the door opens, and two more people walk in; a young woman with dark skin like Orchid's but smoother hair, and a taller man with pale skin like Carl's.

"Good, you're awake," the man says, striding over to the glass as Markus pushes up from the floor and presses curiously against the glass. "I'm Elijah Kamski, a friend of Carl's. We're already in discussion about your relocation, so if-"

Orchid cuts in with a loud, pointed noise from her throat, giving him a dark look, and Markus frowns.

"Relocation?"

"What, you didn't tell him?" Elijah sighs and folds his hands in front of him, stepping closer to the glass. "Listen, Markus. The fact that Leo was so easily able to poison you is concern enough, but to make matters worse, the police refuse to charge him with anything; because it's his father's property, they don't consider it breaking and entering, and they fairly laughed off the idea of 'killing a fish' being called murder ― their words, not mine. To put it simply, you are no longer safe on Carl's property, so you'll be moved here, to AquaLife, where we have the facilities in place to care for merfolk." He tucks his hands behind his back as he turns away and paces the length of the room. "I would have preferred it, of course, if Carl had at least mentioned you years ago, so that once we began gathering mer, we could have introduced you sooner, and then there would be no concern for culture shock..."

"Elijah," Orchid says in warning.

"I'm stating the facts, Monroe; nothing more."

"That's enough," she chides. "You're going to overwhelm the poor boy."

"I can't stay with Carl?" Markus asks, sinking lower toward the floor.

"It isn't safe for you there," the younger black woman says gently, stepping closer to the glass and placing her hand on it. "He'll come and visit, but you'll be better off here anyway."

"He'll visit?"

"Absolutely," Orchid assures. "He fought with Elijah over it in the first place, but in the end we all agreed it was better for you to stay here."

Markus doesn't know what to say to that. He has to leave everything he knows and loves just because Leo got jealous. Murderously so.

"If you're considering using those siren powers of yours, you can forget it," Elijah says bluntly, startling him. "Carl told us about your ability."

"Elijah," Orchid scolds.

"You should know," he goes on, ignoring her, "we have another melusine here at AquaLife."

"Melusine?" Markus echoes, still lost and confused.

"Mer magician. You can make use of the same magic that brought you into being. Your ability is sweet talking. The other melusine here is intelligent and can remember more than anyone. You'll understand when you meet him."

"I don't... I just want to see Carl," Markus says quietly, his head starting to spin.

"He's on his way," the other woman promises, just as the door opens again.

"Markus!" He lights up at the familiar voice and presses against the glass, wishing it wasn't there.

"Carl!"

"Oh Markus," Carl says, rolling up and locking his wheels quickly to place his hands against the glass. "I am so, so sorry; I don't know what got into that boy... Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

"Better," Markus answers hesitantly, grimacing. "My head hurts, and my lungs ache; my gills still burn a bit." He falters, shifting his hand so it lines up with Carl's. "They said I can't come home." Carl stiffens, and then sighs heavily.

"It's for the best, my boy," he says reluctantly. "Leo is... out of control. If he tries to hurt you again, if he tries to kill you... I'm in no condition to stop him. I couldn't live with myself if..."

"He'll be safe here," Elijah assures, cutting into the moment. "And Joshua will help him adjust."

"I'll visit whenever I can," Carl promises. "Besides..." He manages a weak smile that makes Markus' chest ache even more than it already did. "You need more company than a cantankerous old fool like me."

It hurts, and every part of Markus wants to fight it, to beg for them to let him go back, but he knows that's not possible anymore. A sob lodges in his throat, and it takes everything he has not to cry as he nods.

"Okay. Okay, I'll stay."


End file.
